Nomad Jukebox 20gb

January 27, 2002|James Coates Chicago Tribune

Nomad Jukebox 20GB

By Creative Technology Ltd.

$345

For Macintosh and Windows USB

www.nomadworld.com

Music lovers with computers will be drawn to the Nomad Jukebox, a powerful storage and playing system, because it holds more tunes than the competition and because it has some highly sophisticated high-fidelity features -- like dual line outs that permit it to drive a serious surround sound stereo system.

An EAX equalizer built into the device handles a wide variety of sound-tweaking tasks, including simulation of the environment (concert hall, studio, hallway, etc.).

The EAX also handles spatialization settings to change the perceived separation between instruments when using headphones.

Those who might worry about carrying a fragile hard drive in their pockets or putting it on the car's dashboard can take comfort knowing that the included RAM chips hold five minutes worth of music.

The device only needs to access the hard drive's moving parts for a few seconds every hour to replenish the Jukebox's memory. That makes the unit, if anything, even more shock proof than a typical CD music player.

While competitors like the Apple iPod boast built-in rechargeable power supplies, the Nomad Jukebox relies on four rechargeable AA-sized NiMH batteries. These are essential given that the device burns through alkaline batteries in about an hour and a half.

In addition to handling music files, the Nomad Jukebox can play audible books. Adjustable playback speed allows for better handling of spoken material.